Quid pro quo
by Benedick Prospero
Summary: Takeru and Sora help each other deal with a mutual problem: the Yagamis. In response to a challenge on the "The Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs" Digimon Forum.


A/N: This story is based off the "Two Characters and a Prompt" challenge by **the alpha phoenix** in the **"The Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs"** forum. The challenge was to write a story featuring Takeru and Sora with the prompt "shine bright like a star." Here's the link to the forum forum/The-Forest-of-Irrelevant-Road-Signs/141504/. This is my first fic, in fact it's actually the first time I've ever extensively written a piece of narrative fiction (weird since I have a B.A. in English Lit, but I digress) so any criticism I can receive on my writing would be much appreciated. Also, please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes I may have made since I really can't stand reading a sloppily written fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, if I did the show would be much much worse.

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He couldn't believe it. Sighing and running a hand through his blonde hair, he continued to go over in his mind how unbelievable this situation was. That he was talking with _her_ about _this_. It just seemed so far out of the realm of possibility, yet the more the mulled it over the more it made sense. Usually for problems of this magnitude he would consult Yamato, failing that he would go to his surrogate big brother Taichi. However, in this situation neither of them seemed an appropriate person to consult with on the matter. Koushiro who was undoubtedly the group's chief problem solver, as any of them could attest to after their experiences in the digital world 8 years ago, was completely and utterly useless in this matter, lacking the requisite social skills to even make him worthy of consideration as a source of advice on this issue. Jyou was too distant in age and too much of a worrier to be of much assistance. Mimi might have been someone he could have gone to, but her being in America took away that possibility. Running through the options of the younger team of Chosen Children the pickings were just as slim. Going to Daisuke was completely out of the question, given his own personal feelings on the matter. Miyako was far too close to the problem to consider as an option, thus also ruling out her boyfriend Ken. Iori wouldn't care and would see this issue as trivial. That only left one option. She _had _always been like a mother figure to him during their first adventure together. In fact, she seemed to generally be one of the wisest people in their whole group oftentimes finding a way to be somewhat of a soothsayer when internal conflict threatened to undermine their progress towards saving the digital world. Plus it didn't hurt that she _did_ have the Crest of Love. That being said talking to Sora Takenouchi about their mutual love problem was something that Takeru Takaishi never expected to do. In fact, if one were to tell him that it would be Sora who had approached him about this issue he would have been accused them of lying.

Sitting on the couch in the living room of the Takaishi apartment staring at her hands that were folded in her lap Sora was having very similar thoughts to Takeru, but running through the options in her head he truly was the only man who she could look to in this situation. Her chief confidant, Mimi, was across an ocean and she was just not close enough to Miyako to go to her on an issue like this. Hikari, though she loved her like a little sister, was strictly out of the question for obvious reasons. The same could be said for Yamato. The thought of going to Jyou or Koushiro was laughable, and she really didn't know Daisuke, Ken, or Iori well enough to talk with them about a sensitive issue like this. In fact, when hearing through the grapevine that Takeru was going through the same exact issue it dawned on her how perfect he was as a person to consult with. He had always been a very perceptive kid for his age, though she wasn't exactly sure that she could describe someone taller than her as a kid anymore, but that was kind of who he would always be to her. Plus his eternal optimism was just what she needed in this situation, so that she had the confidence to go through something that would drastically shake up the status quo in her life.

The mutual problem in question that was plaguing Takeru and Sora. A problem so serious that the only person they could conceivably consult with was a person going through the same thing. Namely Takeru and Sora were both in love with their respective best friends.

The Yagami siblings.

Despite this intense love the duo felt for the Child of Courage and Child of Light respectively, they were petrified to confront their respective love interests for fear of rejection and subsequent awkwardness. The knowledge of this mutual fear is what lead Sora to Takeru

Deciding to break the ice rather than stay in this purgatory that was this uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the two teenagers Takeru cleared his throat and decided to speak up.

"So…"

"_Real smooth, Takeru"_ he thought mentally slapping himself.

"Yeah…" Sora replied, confidence flowing from her like water flowing through a hole in dam.

"_The topic of the day: I'm in love with my best friend." _Takeru thought, laughing at his own corny thoughts.

Hearing him laugh Sora furrowed her brow and gave him a questioning look. Seeming to recognize the question written on Sora's expression, Takeru proceeded to explain the joke in his head, earning a slight laugh out of Sora.

With this seeming to ease the awkwardness between the two of them, Sora finally decided to get push on with the issue at hand saying, "So I think I have somewhat of a plan for how we can both help each other help ourselves, if that makes sense?"

Takeru considered this for a second and responded with a simple "Oh?"

"Yeah. I was thinking that the best way to do this would be quid pro quo. You help me and in exchange I help you."

Takeru thought about this and surprisingly it sounded like a perfect plan to him. In fact it would benefit him in some ways that Sora had probably never even thought of, being too wrapped up in her own plight to realize. Namely that Taichi would be too distracted to try to kill him for being a boy who dared to be in love with his precious Hikari, though he had yet to kill Daisuke so maybe he would be ok either way.

"Ok so we only have to figure out a way to tell our best friends that we're madly in love with them and really want to take our respective relationships to a new level. Should be fun." Takeru said sardonically before letting out another exasperated sigh.

Sora laughed slightly at the joke replying, "And here I thought you were supposed to be the Child of Hope." She then contorted her face into a frown for effect until they both burst out laughing.

After their laughter died down Takeru started up the conversation again, "So I guess the best way to start is if you tell me is what you love about Taichi so that you can kind of sort your feelings for him before you talk to him that way everything will be much more clear in your mind."

Before Sora could reply Takeru interjected cutting the tension a bit, "If you say because he plays soccer just like you I'm kicking you out immediately."

Sora made a face at Takeru before laughing and replying, "No, no if it were only that simple I wouldn't be here asking for your help. I mean even Koushiro could tell me that much and he's never paying attention."

After collecting her thoughts for a moment Sora decided to continue, "I think what I love more than anything about Taichi is how passionate he is. It's most obvious in the way he is about soccer, and maybe that's where I first noticed it, but it's so much more than that. He has this incredible zeal for life where he really puts all of his heart and soul into everything he does, and while it doesn't always work out for the best, SkullGreymon being a prime example of that, he does it all with best intentions because it comes from his heart. I just see that passion and vigor and just find myself wishing that maybe one day he could feel that way towards me, not that he doesn't already in terms of our friendship, but I feel like whoever the lucky girl Taichi decides to give his heart to will shine brighter to him than any star ever could. I want to shine like that for Taichi because I know that there is no other person who could ever give that to me."

As Sora finished her treatise on her love for Taichi her faced turned as red as her crest, clearly feeling self conscious at having spoken such deep feelings out loud for the first time. Recognizing this Takeru knew he had to act quickly before she drowned herself in self-doubt.

"Say that."

Sora was very confused by this response making it clear to Takeru by just staring at him as if he had two heads instead of replying.

"What you just said to me, say that to Taichi. If you really feel that way about him then you need to tell him just that. It's definitely a frightening proposition, especially if he doesn't return your feelings, but I know that Taichi would never let your friendship become hurt by you putting yourself out there. He cares far too much about you to let that happen." Takeru then grinned before finishing, "So just tell him what you told me and _hope_ for the best."

Sora suddenly felt her self-confidence returning, now knowing what she had to do she was ready to put it all on the line because she now knew that never knowing one way or the other was the worst possible outcome for her. However, before she could confess to Taichi there was one last matter she had to take care of.

"Your turn Takeru."

Takeru suddenly paled and started shifting rather uncomfortably in his seat before managing to find his voice.

"W-what?"

"Quid pro quo Takeru. You helped me now it's my turn to help you"

If it was possible Takeru looked even more uncomfortable than before. It wasn't as if he was unsure of his feelings for Hikari. He knew he loved her more than life itself. However, knowing that in your heart and actually verbalizing it were two very different things. He knew the implications of saying such a thing. It made those feelings real. They could no longer be waved away as mere imagination or misunderstanding. If he went through with this, as he was sure Sora was going to force him to, he would be making the love for his best friend since he was 8 very real. Taking a deep breath and exhaling he nodded to indicate to Sora to go ahead and ask him the question he had made her answer earlier.

"What is about Hikari that makes you love her?"

Closing his eyes and focusing on the girl he had loved for quite some time, he replayed all his memories of her in his mind seeing all the good times and the bad times they had gone through together and everything in between it suddenly became all clear to him.

"There's so much about Hikari that I love. If anything it would be easier to list things that I don't, though that might be nearly impossible. I mean she's beautiful, smart, funny, talented, caring, but I'm not sure if any of that is exactly what makes me love her to the extent that I do. I could go on for days about her smile, which to borrow a phrase you used 'shines brighter than any star ever could.' It feels me with such a sense of warmth and happiness that it's almost like a drug and I need to do anything I can to possibly get it, but even that is not what makes me love her like I do. I think the reason I love Hikari Yagami so much that I could never even begin to think of looking at another girl in this or any other world, is the way she sees the world. In fact I'm almost envious of her vision of the world, how sees the goodness in everyone. She seems to be able to see things in others that I could never even begin to hope to see. She somehow is able to find the bright side of any person, place, or situation. There are some people who I would think are just awful and irredeemable through and through, yet Hikari always manages a way to see the light inside of them. The way she sees the world actually gives _me_ of all people hope. In fact, the way she sees the world makes me push myself harder to become a better person so that maybe others can see me as only Hikari can. I wish that if I can get Hikari to share her love with me that maybe she will also be able to share her vision of the world with me, so that I can too be filled with the hope that she gives everyone. It's truly for this reason why I love Hikari more than life itself."

After Takeru finished his soliloquy on Hikari, Sora sat in stunned silence staring at him as he slowly turned away from her looking at the floor, obviously deeply embarrassed and shocked by how he had just laid his soul bare. Finally, following a few interminable minutes of deafening silence Sora decided to save him from himself just as he had saved her earlier.

"Tell her that."

"W-what? No. I can't. Really? She'll think I'm some sort of psycho stalker and have Taichi kill me."

Sora laughed at this before realizing that she had to quickly step in to defend Takeru from himself.

"No Takeru! That was really sweet! Just tell Hikari that, if that's how you truly feel! If you don't tell her you'll always look back on it with regret. Always asking yourself 'What if?' I get that it's scary to tell your best friend that you love them, hell I'm terrified too, but nothing is worse than not knowing, than living in the purgatory of 'What if?' So just do yourself a favor and tell her. And if you won't do it for yourself, do it for me to hold up your end of the bargain."

Sora sat quietly letting this sink in, before a devilish grin appeared on her face as she quickly added, "I'm sure she'll _love_ to hear it."

They both laughed very hard at this despite how awful it was before eventually regaining their composure. Sora got up quickly gave Takeru a hug and said her goodbyes leaving both of them to ponder their deeply meaningful conversation in solitude. They both now knew what they had to do when they next spoke to their best friends and they had given each other the perfect excuse to not chicken out: they couldn't let the other one down. It was amazing how much a simple latin phrase could change the course of the lives of two teenagers now they knew each that the other was counting on the shine bright like a star when the time came so as not break their pact.

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I somewhat feel like I failed at the prompt since as I was writing the story sort of evolved into something different than I had originally intended and the prompt implied. Also, I do recognize that Takeru is much more deeply written than Sora, again my fault, I just don't really have nearly as solid a comfort level writing Sora as I do Takeru for whatever reason. C'est la vie.

Please review, even if it's mean, I will still appreciate it!


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